How About A Divorce? - Chapter 5
Chapter 5: Dependence
Wen Yu felt that the woman looked familiar but couldn’t remember who she was. “You are?”
Shi Li: “I’m CEO Lin’s friend. I’ve heard her mention you and have seen your photos.”
Oh, someone on Lin Yanqing’s side.
Wen Yu tattled without hesitation. “The event hall isn’t open yet, and I’m resting here. This creator brought her people in. You can see how to handle this.”
“I don’t have the authority to handle it,” Shi Li shrugged.
Wen Yu was confused. Her eyes clearly said, “Then why are you getting involved?”
Shi Li smiled and extended her hand. “Nice to meet you, CEO Wen. My name is Shi Li.”
Shi Li.
These two words immediately brought back Wen Yu’s memories.
This woman was considered a legend in the self-media industry.
When public accounts rose to popularity, she became famous with one article. After that, countless people tried to imitate her but couldn’t even catch up to her exhaust fumes.
As the times changed, that old method became less popular, but she was able to immediately change her strategy and started labeling her articles with various “-isms” of the new era.
When short-form videos rose to popularity, she founded her own company and created a large number of the first generation of internet celebrities. After she reaped the first wave of benefits, she keenly smelled the changes in the format of TV shows and movies.
Long-form dramas were hard to go viral, and short-form dramas were starting to appear.
This was a blue ocean.
Shi Li didn’t have the strong resources and connections of the traditional film and television industry. It was extremely difficult to get a piece of the pie, but the rise of short-form dramas gave her an opportunity.
She made whatever the lower-tier market liked to watch.
After the initial cringeworthy short-form dramas, the lower-tier market grew tired of them. Shi Li had accumulated initial capital, and high-quality short-form dramas came out of nowhere. As soon as they were released, they broke the 24-hour 2 billion views mark.
From then on, she established herself and became famous.
And she was only thirty years old.
Her independent studio, Qianchuan Yinghua, had an average of two viral hits a month, with a revenue of over ten million yuan. Countless people were eager to join her team.
Wen Yu didn’t pay much attention to these things, but she still knew about Shi Li’s great achievements.
She was a little surprised and shook hands with Shi Li. “Shi Li? Nice to meet you. Why are you at this event?”
Wasn’t this a top 100 creator gathering? A group of people were fooling around. How did this big shot get involved?
“We can talk more later, CEO Wen,” Shi Li said. “I’ve already sent a message to the head of security to have them deal with this matter.”
She lifted her chin, gesturing to the group of people behind Wen Yu who had trespassed into the event room.
As soon as she finished speaking, a team of security guards came around the corner. In less than two minutes, the group of people was cleared out.
Wen Yu’s phone was also returned to her.
Her phone went around in a circle before it returned to her hand. She looked at Shi Li and said, “You came here specifically to find me, didn’t you?”
There was no such thing as a coincidence. Shi Li just happened to be passing by, just happened to know Wen Yu, and just happened to help her?
“Not exactly on purpose. I did come for you, CEO Wen, but I didn’t expect to run into you by chance,” Shi Li tilted her head and smiled brightly. “Let’s talk somewhere else. I know a teahouse in Jingnan that’s pretty good.”
At a teahouse not far from the hotel, Wen Yu put down her teacup and asked, “What do you need me for, Teacher Shi?”
Shi Li got straight to the point. “Are you interested in investing in Qianchuan Yinghua, CEO Wen?”
Wen Yu was confused. “Aren’t you in a deep partnership with Zero One? From what I know, you even signed a full annual contract, right?”
“Yes, but it’s about to expire. I want to change the cooperation model and find new partners,” Shi Li nodded.
Within Zero One, the short-form drama business operates on a competitive, dog-eat-dog model. Zero One’s Changyue APP came out on top, and since then, the IAA model has dominated the market. There aren’t many companies that can compete with Zero One, which means that Zero One has absolute power in the short-form drama market. There are a lot of people who want to cooperate with Zero One. Although Zero One’s current conditions are high, in the long run, once Zero One has a monopoly for a while, they will start to exploit their partners.
Shi Li naturally knew Zero One’s methods and didn’t want to be completely dependent on them. So she wanted to find other investors to split the production profits with Zero One. Zero One took 70% of the net profit, and Shi Li had been unhappy about it for a long time. If she just used their platform to release and promote her content, she could negotiate the profit split to a 70/30.
But without a generous client like Zero One, many of their projects would have to be put on hold due to insufficient capital.
So Shi Li came to Wen Yu.
“Why should I invest? I’m not short on money,” Wen Yu said. “Besides, Lin Yanqing is my wife. Wouldn’t I be stealing her client?”
“There’s no such thing as stealing a client,” Shi Li chuckled. “In business, it’s about mutual consent.”
Although Wen Yu was annoyed with Lin Yanqing, it didn’t mean she was willing to trip her up. She didn’t need the money from Shi Li. In essence, Lin Yanqing and Wen Yu were a community of interests.
“But you two are going to get divorced, aren’t you?” After Wen Yu stated her position, Shi Li suddenly blurted out this sentence. Wen Yu was stunned and calmly asked, “Where did you hear that?”
Shi Li refilled Wen Yu’s tea. “CEO Lin told me.”
The tips of Wen Yu’s fingers holding the teacup turned slightly white.
“Are you two close?” she asked.
“Childhood friends.”
Wen Yu had never heard of Lin Yanqing having a childhood friend like this.
Combined with Shi Li’s mention of divorce, she couldn’t help but think more.
Did the mistress come to her? Childhood friend… It couldn’t be a dramatic plot where we met first, so why did you steal her with a family-arranged marriage?
“Don’t misunderstand,” Shi Li suddenly said. She looked at Wen Yu and instantly saw through Wen Yu’s thoughts. “CEO Lin and I have no other relationship. Our families just knew each other when we were kids.”
“As for the divorce, CEO Lin accidentally let it slip before that your marriage was just a family arrangement and had a time limit,” Shi Li smiled. “You have to plan for yourself, CEO Wen. If you partner with me, I guarantee you’ll only make money and won’t lose any.”
Wen Yu didn’t even realize that she felt a slight relief when she heard Shi Li say that she had no relationship with Lin Yanqing.
“I’ll think about it,” Wen Yu said.
But they both knew that saying “I’ll think about it” before a deep conversation had even begun was actually a rejection. Shi Li was smart enough not to say anything more and called the waiter to pay the bill.
On the way back to the hotel, Shi Li gave Wen Yu her business card. “Even though you rejected me, CEO Wen, I still want to try and get a chance for myself.”
Wen Yu accepted it but didn’t take it to heart.
When they arrived at the hotel, Wen Yu was going back to the event room. It was on Shi Li’s way. On the way, they met many people who knew Shi Li. Shi Li nodded and said hello but didn’t leave Wen Yu’s side.
When they got to the door of the event room, Shi Li said, “CEO Wen, will we have a chance to meet again?”
Wen Yu knew that Shi Li wanted to test her feelings again. She joked, “Teacher Shi, I’m not the only one with money. You can find other people.”
Shi Li let out an exaggerated sigh. “But I only have my eyes on you, CEO Wen.”
Her words were ambiguous. Wen Yu looked at her and pretended to be surprised, clutching her chest. “Oh? That’s such a shame. I’m already married.”
Shi Li was amused.
Wen Yu also laughed.
Wen Yu, of course, knew that Shi Li wasn’t flirting but was stating a fact.
Wen Yu had money, and if she invested, she wouldn’t randomly interfere with the content. Most importantly, Wen Yu’s sister had some connections. If Shi Li could get Wen Yu on board, she would be able to get a hold of many policy changes right away.
In business, a lack of information is a big disadvantage.
Zero One, of course, also had this information, but Zero One was too greedy and didn’t share it with her most of the time.
What Wen Yu’s words meant was that she was still on Lin Yanqing’s side and didn’t have any plans to go at it alone for now.
Shi Li said regretfully, “Then will you consider me after you get divorced, CEO Wen?”
Wen Yu casually hummed. “Sure.”
As soon as she finished speaking, the half-open door in front of them opened, and a person walked out.
Wen Yu looked up and saw Lin Yanqing staring at Shi Li with a blank expression. She then glanced at Wen Yu and sneered.
Lin Yanqing spoke softly, “Divorce? Consider you?”
Her gaze fell on Wen Yu. “And you said yes?”
Wen Yu: “…”
Shi Li showed no sign of being guilty about flirting with someone’s wife in front of them. She said brazenly, “Look at you, like a jealous woman.”
Lin Yanqing pulled Wen Yu over and placed her behind her. Wen Yu didn’t embarrass her.
Lin Yanqing looked at Shi Li. “I was wondering why you insisted on coming to this event. It turns out it was for my wife?”
Shi Li didn’t shy away. “Yeah, is that a problem?”
“It’s just business, CEO Lin. You can’t stop me from finding a new partner, even with all the history between us.” Shi Li brushed her hair back and raised an eyebrow at Wen Yu behind Lin Yanqing. “I’ll be leaving now, CEO Wen.”
With that, Shi Li left.
“Don’t get too close to her,” Lin Yanqing said.
Wen Yu pulled her hand away from Lin Yanqing and sat down on the sofa. “Mind your own business.”
“She’s full of schemes. I’m worried she’ll trick you.”
When Shi Li and Wen Yu walked together, it didn’t take much effort for Lin Yanqing to figure out what happened. Shi Li was just after Wen Yu’s money and wanted to leave Zero One.
“If you want to invest in her, fine. I’ll find a manager for you,” Lin Yanqing said.
Wen Yu waved her hand. “Not interested for now. Until we get divorced, your money is my money. I’m too lazy to bother.”
These words made Lin Yanqing both angry and amused. She was angry that Wen Yu kept bringing up divorce but liked this side of Wen Yu that was completely dependent on her.
Lin Yanqing: “Why did you come to Jingnan?”
Wen Yu said casually, “To have some fun. When you mentioned it, I just wanted to come.”
Lin Yanqing neither agreed nor disagreed.
“Oh, right,” Wen Yu stared directly at Lin Yanqing, her eyes full of curiosity. “Why did you post a picture of that street sign on Zhongshan East Road on your Weibo? I remember that was a check-in point for one of our high school summer camps, right?”
Lin Yanqing was stunned.
Wen Yu: “Well?”
“Because…” Lin Yanqing sat down next to Wen Yu.
Wen Yu moved her butt to make space for Lin Yanqing.
Lin Yanqing continued her sentence. “Because that summer camp was quite memorable.”
“Memorable?”
Wen Yu was confused.
The school had a summer camp every year. It was almost like a conjoined twin with Jingnan High School. Their final exams were neck and neck. The school atmosphere was also a carbon copy of each other. She really couldn’t see what was so special about it.
“Yeah,” Lin Yanqing smiled. “My mom didn’t let me go before. That time was an exception.”
Wen Yu knew about the situation with the Lin family. This reason was very reasonable.
Lin Yanqing’s mom was indeed capable of doing such a thing. Wen Yu remembered that high school Lin Yanqing barely participated in any recreational or cultural activities. She had special extracurricular training and didn’t have time to fool around with a group of students.
“Why was that time an exception?” Wen Yu asked.
“At that time, your mom found my mom and asked me to help look after you.”
Wen Yu: “?”
That did sound like something her mom would do.
“I should thank your mom,” Lin Yanqing leaned against the backrest. “She gave me some time to breathe.”
Academics, social skills that an heir needed to master, projects and businesses she had taken over since high school… one thing after another. Lin Yanqing was tired, very tired. This kind of tiredness couldn’t be expressed in words. It could only be suppressed in her heart. She just had to endure it, and everything would be fine once it was over.
Wen Yu heard this and looked at her from the side.
Lin Yanqing still had that calm and composed expression, as if nothing in the world bothered her. But her words revealed a hint of emotion. All her feelings were condensed into a few words and silently disappeared.
Wen Yu rarely reminisced about her high school life. For her, it was just an ordinary experience. Her life wasn’t hard or difficult; it was even easy.
Before today, Wen Yu had always thought that Lin Yanqing was the same.
“Were you unhappy in high school?” After she asked, Wen Yu thought of Lin Jiao’s tactics.
Thinking about it, she must have been unhappy.
“It was okay,” Lin Yanqing turned her head and met her gaze. “There were always some moments that were easy.”
Wen Yu blinked, then reached out and rubbed Lin Yanqing’s head. “You poor thing.”